We Are Not Afraid Of Card Reader – PDP

 

The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday debunked insinuations that they were against the use of card readers for the forthcoming elections.
The party, however, insisted on adequate test runs of the card readers before deploying them for use, in order to avoid chaos.

The deputy national chairman of the PDP, Uche Secondus, who stated this yesterday while briefing newsmen, further boasted that the PDP would win the 2015 election comfortably.

Secondus, who said the PDP was ready for the 2015 elections, said it had decentralised its campaigns from the wards to the polling units, stressing that claims that it was afraid of the use of permanent voter cards (PVCs) and card readers were therefore propaganda by the APC.

While responding to allegations that the PDP was jittery over the use of card readers, Secondus said, “Not at all. You know this is the first time that the party is going to try this technology. I think that this misinformation by APC must be corrected. The PDP is not against card readers.

The PDP believes that INEC should test it and it should be in perfect condition, so that we don’t run into problems. So that on that day, we don’t have problems of it working in some areas and in other areas it won’t work. I mean these are human feelings acoss not just PDP, but the entire country.

“Since it is the first time we will adopt this technology, it should be in perfect condition so that people will not have cause to complain.

PDP’s Objection To Use Of Card Readers Confirms Intention To Rig Election – APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) objection to the use of card readers in this month’s rescheduled election confirms its accusations that the ruling party was doing all in its power to either prevent the election from holding or to rig it.

The party, in a statement issued in Lagos on Thursday by its national publicity secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, described as very curious the fact that the PDP, which had rushed to the press to deny the APC’s claims had turned around to confirm them.

APC said, ‘’At the press conference we addressed on Wednesday, which rattled the PDP and the Jonathan Administration so much, we listed the conditionalities of the PDP/Jonathan administration for holding the election: No PVCs, No Card Readers, No Jega and the fact that they want the military deployed to harass and intimidate voters.

“We mentioned ‘Card Readers’ at least three times during the press conference, and said they (PDP/Jonathan Administration) are doing everything possible to sabotage the machine and prevent its use.

“Both the spokesmen for the PDP and the Jonathan Campaign Organisation rushed to the press to deny any such ‘reprehensible’ plan. But a few hours later, the spokesman for the campaign organisation told an incredulous country that they would oppose the use of Card Reader, apparently after the spokesmen were overruled by their party.

“Obviously, these men are outsiders in their own party and it is now obvious that the opposition knows more about the inner workings of their party than they do.”

Leadership